Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 17
या पीत्वा कणधूमं वै सहस्रं शरदां पुरा । वरा विद्या त्वया प्राप्ता तस्याः कालोयमागतः
yā pītvā kaṇadhūmaṃ vai sahasraṃ śaradāṃ purā | varā vidyā tvayā prāptā tasyāḥ kāloyamāgataḥ
നീ മുൻകാലത്ത് സഹസ്ര ശരദ്കാലങ്ങൾ കണധൂമം സഹിച്ച് നേടിയ ആ ശ്രേഷ്ഠവിദ്യയ്ക്ക്, ഇപ്പോൾ ഫലപ്രാപ്തിയുടെ കാലം എത്തിയിരിക്കുന്നു.
Andhaka (deduced from immediate context leading into ‘ityaṃdhakavacaḥ śrutvā…’)
Scene: A speaker recalls an ancient ordeal: a sage-like figure seated in austerity amid drifting ash-smoke and fine particles, seasons passing in a ring of changing foliage; the present moment glows as ‘time of fruition’ arrives.
FAQs
Austerity and discipline are believed to yield results in their proper time; spiritual power is linked to sustained tapas.
Kāśī is the overarching sacred setting of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, but this verse focuses on tapas and vidyā rather than a named tīrtha.
No public rite; it references severe austerity (enduring ‘kaṇadhūma’) as the means of acquiring vidyā.